The Teacher Sent From God

"His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6.

In the Teacher sent from God, heaven gave to men its best and
greatest. He who had stood in the councils of the Most High, who had
dwelt in the innermost sanctuary of the Eternal, was the One chosen to
reveal in person to humanity the knowledge of God.

Through Christ had been communicated every ray of divine light that
had ever reached our fallen world. It was He who had spoken through
everyone that throughout the ages had declared God's word to man. Of Him
all the excellences manifest in the earth's greatest and noblest souls
were reflections. The purity and beneficence of Joseph, the faith and
meekness and long-suffering of Moses, the steadfastness of Elisha, the
noble integrity and firmness of Daniel, the ardour and self-sacrifice of
Paul, the mental and spiritual power manifest in all these men, and in
all others who had ever dwelt on the earth, were but gleams from the
shining of His glory. In Him was found the perfect ideal.

To reveal this ideal as the only true standard for attainment; to
show what every human being might become; what, through the indwelling
of humanity by divinity, all who received Him would become--for this,
Christ came to the world. He came to show how men are to be trained as
befits the sons of God; how on earth they are to practice the principles
and to live the life of heaven.

God's greatest gift was bestowed to meet man's greatest need. The
Light appeared when the world's darkness was deepest. Through false
teaching the minds of men had long been turned away from God. In the
prevailing systems of education, human philosophy had taken the place of
divine revelation. Instead of the heaven-given standard of truth, men
had accepted a standard of their own devising. From the Light of life
they had turned aside to walk in the sparks of the fire which they had
kindled.

Having separated from God, their only dependence being the power of
humanity, their strength was but weakness. Even the standard set up by
themselves they were incapable of reaching. The want of true excellence
was supplied by appearance and profession. Semblance took the place of
reality.

From time to time, teachers arose who pointed men to the Source of
truth. Right principles were enunciated, and human lives witnessed to
their power. But these efforts made no lasting impression. There was a
brief check in the current of evil, but its downward course was not
stayed. The reformers were as lights that shone in the darkness; but
they could not dispel it. The world "loved darkness rather than
light." John 3:19.

When Christ came to the earth, humanity seemed to be fast reaching
its lowest point. The very foundations of society were undermined. Life
had become false and artificial. The Jews, destitute of the power of
God's word, gave to the world mind-benumbing, soul-deadening traditions
and speculations. The worship of God "in Spirit and in truth"
had been supplanted by the glorification of men in an endless round of
man-made ceremonies. Throughout the world all systems of religion were
losing their hold on mind and soul. Disgusted with fable and falsehood,
seeking to drown thought, men turned to infidelity and materialism.
Leaving eternity out of their reckoning, they lived for the present.

As they ceased to recognise the Divine, they ceased to regard the
human. Truth, honour, integrity, confidence, compassion, were departing
from the earth. Relentless greed and absorbing ambition gave birth to
universal distrust. The idea of duty, of the obligation of strength to
weakness, of human dignity and human rights, was cast aside as a dream
or a fable. The common people were regarded as beasts of burden or as
the tools and the steppingstones for ambition. Wealth and power, ease
and self-indulgence, were sought as the highest good. Physical
degeneracy, mental stupor, spiritual death, characterised the age.

As the evil passions and purposes of men banished God from their
thoughts, so forgetfulness of Him inclined them more strongly to evil.
The heart in love with sin clothed Him with its own attributes, and this
conception strengthened the power of sin. Bent on self-pleasing, men
came to regard God as such a one as themselves--a Being whose aim was
self-glory, whose requirements were suited to His own pleasure; a Being
by whom men were lifted up or cast down according as they helped or
hindered His selfish purpose. The lower classes regarded the Supreme
Being as one scarcely differing from their oppressors, save by exceeding
them in power. By these ideas every form of religion was moulded. Each
was a system of exaction. By gifts and ceremonies, the worshipers sought
to propitiate the Deity in order to secure His favour for their own
ends. Such religion, having no power upon the heart or the conscience,
could be but a round of forms, of which men wearied, and from which,
except for such gain as it might offer, they longed to be free. So evil,
unrestrained, grew stronger, while the appreciation and desire for good
diminished. Men lost the image of God and received the impress of the
demoniacal power by which they were controlled. The whole world was
becoming a sink of corruption.

There was but one hope for the human race--that into this mass of
discordant and corrupting elements might be cast a new leaven; that
there might be brought to mankind the power of a new life; that the
knowledge of God might be restored to the world.

Christ came to restore this knowledge. He came to set aside the false
teaching by which those who claimed to know God had misrepresented Him.
He came to manifest the nature of His law, to reveal in His own
character the beauty of holiness.

Christ came to the world with the accumulated love of eternity.
Sweeping away the exactions which had encumbered the law of God, He
showed that the law is a law of love, an expression of the Divine
Goodness. He showed that in obedience to its principles is involved the
happiness of mankind, and with it the stability, the very foundation and
framework, of human society.

So far from making arbitrary requirements, God's law is given to men
as a hedge, a shield. Whoever accepts its principles is preserved from
evil. Fidelity to God involves fidelity to man. Thus the law guards the
rights, the individuality, of every human being. It restrains the
superior from oppression, and the subordinate from disobedience. It
ensures man's well-being, both for this world and for the world to come.
To the obedient it is the pledge of eternal life, for it expresses the
principles that endure forever.

Christ came to demonstrate the value of the divine principles by
revealing their power for the regeneration of humanity. He came to teach
how these principles are to be developed and applied.

With the people of that age the value of all things was determined by
outward show. As religion had declined in power, it had increased in
pomp. The educators of the time sought to command respect by display and
ostentation. To all this the life of Jesus presented a marked contrast.
His life demonstrated the worthlessness of those things that men
regarded as life's great essentials. Born amidst surroundings the
rudest, sharing a peasant's home, a peasant's fare, a craftsman's
occupation, living a life of obscurity, identifying Himself with the
world's unknown toilers,--amidst these conditions and surroundings,--
Jesus followed the divine plan of education. The schools of His time,
with their magnifying of things small and their belittling of things
great, He did not seek. His education was gained directly from the
Heaven-appointed sources; from useful work, from the study of the
Scriptures and of nature, and from the experiences of life-- God's
lesson books, full of instruction to all who bring to them the willing
hand, the seeing eye, and the understanding heart. "The Child grew,
and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was
upon Him." Luke 2:40.

Thus prepared, He went forth to His mission, in every moment of His
contact with men exerting upon them an influence to bless, a power to
transform, such as the world had never witnessed.

He who seeks to transform humanity must himself understand humanity.
Only through sympathy, faith, and love can men be reached and uplifted.
Here Christ stands revealed as the master teacher; of all that ever
dwelt on the earth, He alone has perfect understanding of the human
soul.

"We have not a high priest"--master teacher, for the
priests were teachers--"we have not a high priest that cannot be
touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but One that hath been in
all points tempted like as we are." Hebrews 4:15, R.V.

"In that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to
succour them that are tempted." Hebrews 2:18.

Christ alone had experience in all the sorrows and temptations that
befall human beings. Never another of woman born was so fiercely beset
by temptation; never another bore so heavy a burden of the world's sin
and pain. Never was there another whose sympathies were so broad or so
tender. A sharer in all the experiences of humanity, He could feel not
only for, but with, every burdened and tempted and struggling one.

What He taught, He lived. "I have given you an example," He
said to His disciples; "that ye should do as I have done."
"I have kept My Father's commandments." John 13:15; 15:10.
Thus in His life, Christ's words had perfect illustration and support.
And more than this; what He taught, He was. His words were the
expression, not only of His own life experience, but of His own
character. Not only did He teach the truth, but He was the truth. It was
this that gave His teaching, power.

Christ was a faithful reprover. Never lived there another who so
hated evil; never another whose denunciation of it was so fearless. To
all things untrue and base His very presence was a rebuke. In the light
of His purity, men saw themselves unclean, their life's aims mean and
false. Yet He drew them. He who had created man, understood the value of
humanity. Evil He denounced as the foe of those whom He was seeking to
bless and to save. In every human being, however, fallen, He beheld a
son of God, one who might be restored to the privilege of his divine
relationship.

"God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but
that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:17. Looking upon
men in their suffering and degradation, Christ perceived ground for hope
where appeared only despair and ruin. Wherever there existed a sense of
need, there He saw opportunity for uplifting. Souls tempted, defeated,
feeling themselves lost, ready to perish, He met, not with denunciation,
but with blessing.

The beatitudes were His greeting to the whole human family. Looking
upon the vast throng gathered to listen to the Sermon on the Mount, He
seemed for the moment to have forgotten that He was not in heaven, and
He used the familiar salutation of the world of light. From His lips
flowed blessings as the gushing forth of a long-sealed fountain.

Turning from the ambitious, self-satisfied favourites of this world,
He declared that those were blessed who, however great their need, would
receive His light and love. To the poor in spirit, the sorrowing, the
persecuted, He stretched out His arms, saying, "Come unto Me, . . .
and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.

In every human being He discerned infinite possibilities. He saw men
as they might be, transfigured by His grace--in "the beauty of the
Lord our God." Psalm 90:17. Looking upon them with hope, He
inspired hope. Meeting them with confidence, He inspired trust.
Revealing in Himself man's true ideal, He awakened, for its attainment,
both desire and faith. In His presence souls despised and fallen
realised that they still were men, and they longed to prove themselves
worthy of His regard. In many a heart that seemed dead to all things
holy, were awakened new impulses. To many a despairing one there opened
the possibility of a new life.

Christ bound them to His heart by the ties of love and devotion; and
by the same ties He bound them to their fellow men. With Him love was
life, and life was service. "Freely ye have received," He
said, "freely give." Matthew 10:8.

It was not on the cross only that Christ sacrificed Himself for
humanity. As He "went about doing good" (Acts 10:38), every
day's experience was an outpouring of His life. In one way only could
such a life be sustained. Jesus lived in dependence upon God and
communion with Him. To the secret place of the Most High, under the
shadow of the Almighty, men now and then repair; they abide for a
season, and the result is manifest in noble deeds; then their faith
fails, the communion is interrupted, and the lifework marred. But the
life of Jesus was a life of constant trust, sustained by continual
communion; and His service for heaven and earth was without failure or
faltering.

As a man He supplicated the throne of God, till His humanity was
charged with a heavenly current that connected humanity with divinity.
Receiving life from God, He imparted life to men.

"Never man spake like this Man." John 7:46. This would have
been true of Christ had He taught only in the realm of the physical and
the intellectual, or in matters of theory and speculation solely. He
might have unlocked mysteries that have required centuries of toil and
study to penetrate. He might have made suggestions in scientific lines
that, till the close of time, would have afforded food for thought and
stimulus for invention. But He did not do this. He said nothing to
gratify curiosity or to stimulate selfish ambition. He did not deal in
abstract theories, but in that which is essential to the development of
character; that which will enlarge man's capacity for knowing God, and
increase his power to do good. He spoke of those truths that relate to
the conduct of life and that unite man with eternity.

Instead of directing the people to study men's theories about God,
His word, or His works, He taught them to behold Him, as manifested in
His works, in His word, and by His providences. He brought their minds
in contact with the mind of the Infinite.

The people "were astonished at His teaching (R.V.), for His word
was with power." Luke 4:32. Never before spoke one who had such
power to awaken thought, to kindle aspiration, to arouse every
capability of body, mind, and soul.

Christ's teaching, like His sympathies, embraced the world. Never can
there be a circumstance of life, a crisis in human experience, which has
not been anticipated in His teaching, and for which its principles have
not a lesson. The Prince of teachers, His words will be found a guide to
His co-workers till the end of time.

To Him the present and the future, the near and the far, were one. He
had in view the needs of all mankind. Before His mind's eye was
outspread every scene of human effort and achievement, of temptation and
conflict, of perplexity and peril. All hearts, all homes, all pleasures
and joys and aspirations, were known to Him.

He spoke not only for, but to, all mankind. To the little child, in
the gladness of life's morning; to the eager, restless heart of youth;
to men in the strength of their years, bearing the burden of
responsibility and care; to the aged in their weakness and
weariness,--to all, His message was spoken,--to every child of humanity,
in every land and in every age.

In His teaching were embraced the things of time and the things of
eternity--things seen, in their relation to things unseen, the passing
incidents of common life and the solemn issues of the life to come.

The things of this life He placed in their true relation, as
subordinate to those of eternal interest; but He did not ignore their
importance. He taught that Heaven and earth are linked together, and
that a knowledge of divine truth prepares man better to perform the
duties of daily life.

To Him nothing was without purpose. The sports of the child, the
toils of the man, life's pleasures and cares and pains, all were means
to the end--the revelation of God for the uplifting of humanity.

From His lips the word of God came home to men's hearts with new
power and new meaning. His teaching caused the things of creation to
stand out in new light. Upon the face of nature once more rested
gleamings of that brightness which sin had banished. In all the facts
and experiences of life were revealed a divine lesson and the
possibility of divine companionship. Again God dwelt on earth; human
hearts became conscious of His presence; the world was encompassed with
His love. Heaven came down to men. In Christ their hearts acknowledged
Him who opened to them the science of eternity--

"Immanuel, . . . God with us."

In the Teacher sent from God, all true educational work finds its
centre. Of this work today as verily as of the work He established
eighteen hundred years ago, the Saviour speaks in the words--

"I am the First and the Last, and the Living One."

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end."
Revelation 1:17, R.V.; 21:6, R.V.

In the presence of such a Teacher, of such opportunity for divine
education, what worse than folly is it to seek an education apart from
Him--to seek to be wise apart from Wisdom; to be true while rejecting
Truth; to seek illumination apart from the Light, and existence without
the Life; to turn from the Fountain of living waters, and hew out broken
cisterns, that can hold no water.

Behold, He is still inviting: "If any man thirst, let him come
unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath
said," out of him "shall flow rivers of living water."
"The water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of
water springing up unto eternal life." John 7:37, 38; 4:14, R.V.